Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-01-30
A HAUNTED SHIP.
HUNDREDS OF LIVES SACRIFICED BY
TgR ILL-FATED HARVEY MILLS.
Fire. Fever. Collision, and Wreck-An
Unprecedented Record Of Disaster to
Vessel Launched on Friday.
New Ymk Herald. J


81 do moi believe in fate except so
far as there must logically exist or have
existed cause for every effect SAID
cx-Captain N,mbridge yesterday, "but
somehow the history ofthe ship Harvey
Mills battles my philosophy. The law
of chance. which is not susceptible to
legislative modification, is the only law
which rules the sea, AMI never m the
records Of American shipping has there
been an instance of such consistent
pcr,crsity and persistent adversely fol
lowing the fortunes OF q sailing vessel
rs pursued the Harvey Mills from the
honr OF launching to the hour of foun-
dcrinQ in m.d-occan.
Thi, modern mariner lives IN Brook
lvn Ike left the sea because he could
not reconcile his conscience with the
WAYS Of Providence 30 the sailor and be
cause he preferred The conservatism Of
socictv ON dry land TO the INSTABILITY of
decrsca navigation, Partly from his
experience. partly FROM the records of
the American Shipmasters Association,
nj No. 81 William street. this city, and
partly from reports that have appeared
IN The English newspapers at intervals
during the past ten years, these re-
markahle incidents in the career of the
Harvey Mills are arranged in the order
OF their occurrence.
LAUNCHED OK friday.
On the last Thursdoy OF September,
1876. The hull Of villa, Wis 30 he full
rugged ship lay in the dockyard of the
seaport town 81 Thomastou, Ne, ready
for launching. A hamssing series Of
delays had attended her construction.
In spite Of accurate designing and the
employment of skilled artisans her TIM
hers were found t0 be at ge1mctrical
skies and sevcns, and half OF tnm had
to be- recut and replaced. She was 23l
feet long, and it had been the purpose
of her builder, Mr.. Harvey Mills, 10
complete the ship ON the two-hundred-
and-thrty-iirst day Of the year, about
the middle 81 August but the afore-
said series Of DELAYS made this impOSsi-
Bile. Accidents were continually happen
ing 10 the workmen employed III the
ward Tackle and engines broke and
became disorganizcd almost daily, and
every time beam, block, or a scat
folding fell one or moro worlmcn were
carried 10 the hospital The first osti-
mate Of cost of $4,000 was exceeded
by nearly So, 900, directly consequent
on these misadvcntures, and when, ON
thc last Thursday i'm September, orders
wcrc given to launch the ship, she had
already earned a bad character. The
WAYS were creased, all blocks removed,
but tine ship refused b bulge The
wurlmen toilcd until m;dniSh, with
levers and ropes 10 force her into the
sea. and few moments after midnight
the big mastess hulk slipped so sud-
denly that one Of the workmen was
crushed to death beneath her bows.
Thus baptized in blood and launched
on Friday. the Harvey Mills began her
disastrous career. She was i3 feet
beam and 20 feet T inches depth OF
hold, was built of ont and yellow pine
and Was 9,077 tons burden. She be
gan trading between Liverpool and
Port Roynl. s. c.. the following spring
On her first trip along the coast She
sprung aleak aud came very near be
ing abandoned by her crew. Sine
reached Port Royal i'm "a sinking con-
diiion, and il was found that she had
lost one of Dor bottom planks in some
mysterious manner Having been
carefully repaired and ovcrhaulcd, the
Harvey Mills WIS laden with cotton
IN bul,s and cleared Tor Liverpool
AFLO4rING FURNACE
When five days out having expert
cuccd unusually rough weather, an
alarm of fire Was gvcn on Friday mid
night 4 panic prevailed The cap
tain and mate restored order at the
mu21los of reviewers and made q search
for the seat of Inflammation The hold
was full of smoke and spirals of sutlO-
eating yellow yapor came from the
MATCHES. Spontaneous combustion was
The only explanation. Water poured
into the nnoidcring cotton produced
no effect, and the matches were al last
battcuod down. and the ships course
changed 10 New York 1t was
a f7cltul VOYAGE. The decks be-
came hot and had to be repeatedly
drcnched with water to permit walking
upon them. A series OF calms succeed
ed stormy weather, and the Harvey
Mills driftcd like tirc-roft upon
tropical lagoon ON the second day
her maiumast eaten away by the heat
broke under the rolling of the ship
and almost went overheard She
reached New York ina the latter part OF
March. 1877. with half her cargo ruined
and the hull baked, scanned, and charrcd
to "a degree that nccessitatcd several
months repairing
HAUNTED nY SPECIFIES.
While thc record Of the Harvey Mills
during the next five years is monoto-
nous in the regularity of her misfor-
tunes there was never any mon0tony
or freedom from excitement t. her
crews. No sailor would make second
voyage i'm her. even for pay beyond the
dreams Of commercial ayarice. During
her successive VOYAGES across the Allan
tic she repeatedly changed owncrships
at "a constantly decreasing figure. If
there was wreck IN her part of the
ocean the Harvey Mills WAS certain to
collide with IT, If there happened to
be sicl. man ON board when she sailed !
that man surely died. The ship was |
again and again short-handed from the |
rNages Of epidemic diseases aud deser-
lions and to cap the very climax of su- |
pc8titious horror she won the reputa-
ton Of being haunted.
Every time there Was a storm the rig |
cing became filed with luminous !
beings, who added their cries to the
noises of the tempests, and a constant |
reign Of terror prevailed in the f.rcas-
tie. owing to the reputed residence
there Of the spirits Of sailors who had
died 10y violence or disease. They
manifested their presence in the usual
way, aud one fact is GU
lious to note, that the Harvey Mills
was always entirely free from rats
4 COLLISION II THE NIGHT.
In Dccemer 1882, the Harvey Mills
set sail from Liverpool with new crew
and full cargo OF miscellaneous mer-
and insured at heavy pre-
MUM. Her previous record had in
CURED the diSplcasure OF the under
.t.rtf.rs oul cba yras pacsarlpd ao fhp |